Emmett & Isla
by Little Lorikeet
Summary: Emmett is assigned to read to a sick girl in hospital after going too far with a prank. At first, he sees this as a nuisance, until he actually meets little Isla and spends time with her.
1. Chapter 1

** Hey guys, just a short story idea I'm playing with. Let me know if you would like me to continue with this. This story is about a little girl dying of cancer so just be aware of that if the topic is sensitive for you. I don't own the Twilight characters.**

Emmett Cullen wasn't in the best of moods right now, he had taken one of his pranks a little too far and managed to piss off Carlisle. That in itself was an impressive achievement, Carlisle was not one to be easily angered.

Carlisle had promised Emmett he would know what his punishment was when he got home from work that afternoon. Edward and Alice already knew what it was, but refused to tell their brother anything.

'It won't be that bad, Em.' Alice promised him, trying to placate him a little.

'But Alice, Carlisle's punishments are always creative, he'll make me suffer!' Emmett moaned before looking at her with a horrified expression on his face. 'Oh God, he isn't confiscating my Xbox, is he?'

'No, he isn't.' Alice replied, returning to her magazine. 'You'll find out soon. Maybe next time you feel like setting off bottle rockets in his office, you'll think twice.'

'He has to think once first!' Edward yelled from upstairs, laughing.

'Shut up!'

Carlisle arrived home shortly before 5pm, Emmett stared at him, waiting to be put out of his misery. He waited impatiently as Carlisle put his bag away and kissed Esme on the cheek.

'Oh, come on!' Emmett exclaimed. 'What is my punishment?'

'Alright, Emmett.' Carlisle replied. 'I signed you up for a volunteer program at the hospital. For the next month, you'll be reading to a sick child twice a week.'

Emmett's mouth dropped open.

'You have got to be kidding me! Me in a hospital? With _little _kids?'

'Alice said everything will be fine.' Carlisle replied sternly. 'You will start tomorrow after school.'

He went upstairs with Esme, leaving no room for argument. Emmett couldn't believe it, Carlisle must have lost his mind! Would he really let Emmett loose in a hospital with small children around? Apparently so.

'At least assign me to read to a boy!' Emmett called up after him. 'I don't want to be reading about ponies and princesses and shit.'

There was no answer, Emmett stormed outside.

'He's getting a girl, isn't he?' Jasper asked Alice.

'Sure is.'


	2. Chapter 2

** Hey guys, here is my second chapter. It is a little bit longer than the first, but I'm not big on writing huge chapters and I'm struggling a little to write for long periods of time at the moment anyway. Please review, I would like to know what you think of it and if you want me to work on anything.**

The school day went way too fast for Emmett's liking, normally, he couldn't wait to get out of there. But since he had to go to the hospital straight after school, rather than home with Rose, the hours just flew by.

'Try not to scare the kids.' Rosalie pleaded with him. 'It'll be over before you know it.'

Emmett just nodded his head glumly before getting into his Jeep and making the solitary drive to the hospital, Rose was going home with the others. He actually had previous plans with her that afternoon, but they were now cancelled, thanks to Carlisle.

The drive to the hospital was far too short, he sat in the stationary car for a moment, trying to gather himself.

_ 'It's just an hour.' _ He told himself. _'It can't be worse than listening to Alice's commentary on the latest fashions.'_

Oh, he was kidding himself. This would be Hell. Cursing under his breath, Emmett got out and headed into the building. Carlisle was waiting for him, Emmett tried not to glare at him as he headed over to him.

'Okay, Emmett, I'm glad you're here.' Carlisle said, getting straight down to business. 'You will be reading to one of our cancer patients. Her name is Isla Townsend and she is eight years old.'

Emmett groaned internally, a girl? He had to read to a girl? What if it was a fairy book? Or one about flowers of something? Jasper would never let him live it down. His emotions must have shown on his face because Carlisle's expression hardened slightly.

'You behave yourself.' Carlisle warned as he lead him through the corridors. 'Isla is a favourite with the nurses and doctors so don't you dare upset her. She is unable to read very well herself as she has missed a lot of school so you read whatever book she gives you. Understand?'

'Yes.' Emmett groaned.

They entered a corridor that was a lot brighter than the others, the walls were covered in cartoon animals. It was the children's wing. Carlisle stopped at a door, knocked on it briefly, and entered with Emmett close behind him.

The room actually looked nice, a bit like a bedroom but with medical equipment in it. The walls in here had drawings and photos taped to them. When Emmett finally saw Isla, he was rather taken aback.

He knew she would be sick, but hadn't really been prepared for how sick she actually was. Isla was tiny, her skin almost as pale as his own and she was rather thin. Her mousy brown hair was short, barely reaching her ears. There were IV lines in her arm and neck, a feeding tube up her nose and taped to her cheek.

Emmett felt incredibly guilty, he thought he had it bad by having to read a fairy book, this poor kid was very ill and he was complaining about spending an hour with her?

'Hi, Carlisle.' Isla said as they approached the bed, there was a homemade quilt over the hospital issue sheets and she was cuddling a big stuffed giraffe.

'Hello, Isla.' Carlisle replied. 'This is my son, Emmett, he is going to read to you today.'

'Really?' Isla squeaked, her big green eyes lit up with excitement.

'Yes, whatever book you want.' Carlisle told her, looking pointedly at Emmett. 'I'll leave you to it.'

Carlisle left, Emmett looked back at Isla who now had a book clutched in her hand. Where had that come from?

'Will you read me Harry Potter?' she asked shyly, holding the book up. It was the third one, The Prisoner of Azkaban.

Emmett grinned, he loved the series. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. The book was brand new, she hadn't even started the book yet.

'Harry Potter is awesome, who is your favourite character?' Emmett asked, sitting in the chair beside the bed.

'Hedwig.'

'Hedwig?' Emmett snorted. 'Hedwig doesn't count, she's an owl.'

'I know. But she's beautiful and brave and smart and…'

'Okay, okay, I get it.' He laughed. 'How about we start the story?'

Emmett was only supposed to stay for an hour, but he was there until 6pm, when it was time for dinner. He had been so enthralled in the story, mimicking the characters' voices to entertain Isla, he had lost track of time. Carlisle came in and told him it was time to go home. It was hard to tell who was more disappointed, Isla or Emmett.

'Will you come back?' Isla asked, looking at him pleadingly. Poor little kid, how could say no to her?

'I'll be back tomorrow, how does that sound?' he promised her and was rewarded with a big toothy grin, she was missing some of her baby teeth.

Emmett said goodbye before joining a smug-looking Carlisle in the corridor.

'I take it you enjoyed yourself?' he smirked.

'You're lucky she's cute and is a Harry Potter fan.' Emmett sniffed. 'What's her deal, anyway? How long is she here for?'

'She won't leave here, Emmett.' Carlisle replied softly, looking sad. 'Her condition is terminal, all treatments have failed. All we can do is manage her pain and keep her as comfortable as possible.'

'So, she lives in the hospital?'

'Yes, her family visit her every day though.' Carlisle explained. 'And she knows the nurses very well so they always try to spend time with her too.'

Carlisle still had a few hours before his shift finished, so he saw Emmett out before returning to work. Emmett drove home in a daze, he liked Isla, she was a cute little kid and just loved being read to. Maybe it made her forget her situation for a little while? He had seen the way Edward, Jasper and Esme would get absorbed in their books, they were the big readers in the house.

If he was honest with himself, he was looking forward to visiting her again.


	3. Chapter 3

** I am so happy to get positive reviews about this. Just a reminder that this is a short story, I am posting both the 3rd chapter and epilogue today.**

Emmett not only made good on his promise, but actually visited Isla every day after school. From Monday to Friday he would spend a few hours with her. Carlisle told him that Isla would count down the hours, waiting anxiously for him to come and read to her. He didn't see her on the weekends as her family would be with her or, when she was having a good day, she would go home for a couple of hours accompanied by a nurse.

It was in the beginning of the second week that he met her parents, David and Erin. They were very happy to meet him, apparently Isla had told them all about him. Isla only let Emmett read Harry Potter to her now, she refused to listen to anyone else because "they couldn't do the voices right".

They didn't always spend the whole time reading. One day Emmett took a quiz with him to find out what house they would be in if they went to Hogwarts. Emmett was a Gryffindor while Isla was a Ravenclaw. Some days, Rosalie even came with him, she wanted to meet Isla since Emmett was so taken with her. Isla thought Rosalie was beautiful and was excited to meet her.

Rosalie didn't come every day, it was Emmett's thing, but she did make an appearance once or twice a week. On one visit, Rosalie even bought a stuffed Hedwig toy for her as a present which pretty much made her Isla's favourite person.

Emmett and Isla settled quickly into a routine, he would read a couple of chapters to her before moving onto a game. Isla liked card games, her older brother had taught her to play most well-known games, including Cheat, which Emmett knew better as Bullshit. The scary thing was, she was damn good at it too. Emmett would have loved to set her loose on Jasper, he was the card king in the house. Edward and Alice didn't count, they cheated.

As they made their way through the books, however, Emmett noticed changes in Isla. She had lost weight, the dark circles under her eyes grew more prominent and her skin was so pale it was almost translucent, the veins under her skin giving it almost a blue tinge. But, despite her obvious decline in health, she always smiled when Emmett came to see her. Isla never complained about how sick she felt or if she was in pain.

Emmett didn't let on anything when he was with Isla, but at home, he was actually rather depressed and angry. It wasn't fair that she had to die. He actually pleaded with Carlisle, begging him that there was something they could do for her. It truly broke Carlisle's heart to tell him no. They had run out of options months ago. Even if they discovered a miracle cure that day, her body was too far gone to recover from it, the damage was irreversible. There was no option to turn her either, she was far too young.

It was a Thursday morning, when Carlisle got home from his night shift, that he called Emmett downstairs. Esme noticed Carlisle actually looked tired and stressed, she went to his side and took his hand as Emmett appeared in the kitchen. Carlisle looked at him.

'Emmett, I'm so sorry.' Carlisle said quietly. 'Isla passed away early this morning.'

'But she was okay yesterday!' Emmett yelled, panicked.

'Emmett, since she went into palliative care, every day that she woke up in the morning was a bonus.' Carlisle told him. 'I…'

He was cut off when Emmett bolted out the door and into the woods.

'Emmett!' Rosalie exclaimed before racing after him.

She found him beside a broken tree, sobbing. He was actually crying, sitting among the splintered remains of the tree he had shattered with his fist.

'Oh, Em.' Rosalie sighed sadly, moving to sit beside him and taking his hand. 'I'm so sorry.'

'We only just finished the 5th book, she was never going to make the next one being released.' Emmett whispered. 'It isn't fair.'

'No, it's not.' Rosalie agreed.

The two of them sat in silence for hours, Isla's death had hit Emmett harder than he thought it would. Once he was ready to face the rest of the family, they returned home, hand in hand.

Emmett sat at the kitchen table, head in his hands. He looked up when Carlisle approached him.

'Erin said Isla drew this for you, she wanted you to have it.' Carlisle gave him a piece of paper with a crayon drawing on it.

Isla had drawn a picture of the two of them, it was a typical childish scrawl, but Emmett knew what it was right away. They were holding hands and dressed in Hogwarts robes, Emmett with the Gryffindor colours, Isla with Ravenclaw. In their free hands, were wands, and what looked like an owl flying overhead.

'Was it peaceful?' Emmett asked finally.

'Yes, she slipped away in her sleep.' Carlisle assured him. 'Her parents were with her.'


	4. Epilogue

The funeral was hard, the sight of the tiny white coffin covered in pink flowers was a very sad sight. There was a photo resting on top of it, one where she looked quite healthy and was grinning cheekily at the camera. All of the Cullen family attended, even Jasper, who suffered through the emotional event to support his brother.

A lot of people attended, Isla had touched a lot of people in her short life and they had turned out in great numbers to say their final goodbyes. David read the eulogy but broke down crying halfway though and one of Isla's uncles got up and finished it.

Emmett clutched Rosalie's hand throughout the entire ceremony, listening attentively to every word.

Shortly after Isla had been put to rest, he found out that David and Erin had set up a foundation in Isla's name to raise money for cancer research. Emmett made a generous and anonymous donation straight away, and would continue to donate money every year.

He visited her regularly and when the next Harry Potter books came out, he sat at the end of her grave and read them to her. Even though she was gone, he was hoping that her spirit was listening to him.

** Well, that's it. I hope you liked it. I know it wasn't a huge story but I do not have the attention span right now to be writing long ones. I prefer short stories anyway :) I used the Harry Potter books in this story, not only because I am a huge fan, but also because I myself read them to my friend while she was going through chemotherapy. She was unable to read them herself because she was too nauseous to read them herself. She is in remission now, has been for a few years, but those books meant a lot to both of us. Thanks for reading...**

**-Lorikeet**


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